Local social action group Homeless Outreach Practiced Everyday (H.O.P.E.), is launching a new project in Constantine this week called Loads of Love. The program will provide three loads of free wash and dry to all customers with quarters, soap, and dryer sheets provided.

The first day of free laundry begins on Friday, March 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Constantine Launderette, 1020 S. Washington St.

Loads of Love represents an expansion of H.O.P.E.’s street outreach campaign, according to H.O.P.E. Director Casey Tobias.

“Clean clothes provide basic dignity for all of us. Why should laundry cost people so much when local jobs pay them so little?” Tobias said. “If you think about it, if a family does three loads of laundry, the money they save could buy a tank full of gas or a cart of groceries. That is an immediate positive impact for a family.”

Tobias added that small efforts like Loads of Love can have a real impact on St. Joseph County’s impoverished and unhoused communities, in addition to H.O.P.E.’s efforts to provide food, clothes, and transportation for appointments in an attempt to address a wide range of immediate needs.

Loads of Love is expected to eventually launch in Three Rivers as well.